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Post by ozark on Jul 1, 2009 21:02:06 GMT -5
During the late 1800s and early 1900s much of the game animals from the area had been killed out. I can't feel bad at their action because nearly all of it was used as table fare.
There were a few Muzzle Loaders and then later on a few center fire rifles. Most everyone had a shotgun and that was the weapon of choice when they went after meat. I am satisfied that more deer fell from buckshot than rifles. Second in numbers of animals killed was probably the .22 rimfire. Nearly every household had one and it brought both small and large animals to the table. It would be my guess that most members of this forum has a .22rim fire as well as a shotgun. I have and although I have limited their uses there is still a need for them now and then.
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Post by whyohe on Jul 1, 2009 21:13:58 GMT -5
most families back then didn't have the money for a nice center fire rifle. the shot gun was an all around put meat on the table gun. but was also use full as protection around the house. but what gage was most popular back then? IMO the 12 gage is most popular now.
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Post by ozark on Jul 1, 2009 21:30:55 GMT -5
I think the 12 ga. was the most common. I guess the blunderbuss was popular among hunters killing for the market. It probably helped put the passenger pigeon into extinction.
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Post by dans on Jul 2, 2009 7:14:29 GMT -5
My great grandfather had one gun, an Iver Johnson Champion, single shot in 20 guage. My grandfather had one gun, also a single shot, in 12 guage. My dad had two, a Winchester model 67 single shot 22, and a Stevens double barrel in 20 ga. They prefered simple guns that just kept working and didn't waste ammunition. Dad wouldn't pay the extra money for a box of .22 LR. He always shot .22 shorts. Same with the 20 guage instead of a 12 didn't see any use for the bigger guage as the 20 would do all he wanted. They didn't waste ammo practicing. They just went out and killed stuff.
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Post by jims on Jul 2, 2009 12:40:28 GMT -5
I have heard what also contributed to the passenger pigeon loss was the felling of a large number of tree nesting sites.
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Post by ozark on Jul 2, 2009 16:53:30 GMT -5
jims, it was probably a combination of several things. I had read where millions were killed and sold for food in the cities. They must have been something to see when the flocks would actually shade the earth for miles and for hours. I read where the would light in trees in numbers that would litterly break all the limbs off. Back to the shotguns. My son has my Dads old Iver Johnsone 12 ga. trap gun. It is single shot and has a matted rib barrel. It helped bring my folks through the depression. I re blued and re stocked it about thirty years ago and gave it to my son to keep in the family. People didn't take care of their guns back years ago like we do not.
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Post by mike3132 on Jul 2, 2009 21:20:29 GMT -5
I learned to hunt with single shot guns. My first was a Stevens .410 and Steven Model 15 .22. With only one shot you learned to wait until you had a good shot. I got the .410 when I was 9 years old and used it most of my life to rabbit hunt. Ive killed truck loads of game with that gun over the years and its still my favorite gun for rabbit hunting.
Not long ago I gave the .22 to my neighbors 10 year old son Cody. He was proud as a peacock of that gun. Mike
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Post by rossman40 on Jul 3, 2009 0:44:16 GMT -5
My dad never really hunted or shot much, nether did his dad. My moms dad had a double barrel 12ga while on the farm and a S&W .44 (not a Mag, one of the early hand ejectors). I still haven't been able to find out who in the family has them or what happened to them. My wife's grandfather had a single shot shotgun but upgraded to a model 12 in 1932 and bought a Sears (Marlin) single shot .22 for my wife's dad in 1936. I have the .22 which looks like crap with serious rust but shoots great. The model 12 which was totally restored went to my wife's brother and the dumbass hocked it for drinking/drug money.
Last Friday I made a historic shot with the .22. I was watching the oldest grandson (turns 6 this month) and he was bugging me about going hunting. I explained that if we go hunting and we kill something we were going to eat it, we were not just going to kill something. I ask him what we were going to hunt and he said rabbits (we have a lot of rabbits and I do need to cull a few before they eat more out of the garden then me). So we discussed if we should use a pistol, rifle or shotgun and we decided on rifle. We discussed what size and I steered it to the .22. I got it out and he wasn't too impressed with it compared to the other hot rods in the safe. So we sat on the front porch and talked about gun and hunting safety. As it got closer to dusk the rabbits started coming out. He wanted to go after the first one but I told him it was a awful small one and we'll let him grow some more. The next one was out by the garden and I explained to him it would be pretty tough to sneak up close on him. The next one was in the side yard and I told him we would go for him. I showed him how to get one of the larger trees between him and us so we could get pretty close ( about 25yds) without him seeing us. I was able to put a round at the base of the rabbits head and it was a DRT. Light was fading while I field dressed it (he didn't get a good look at the blood and guts) and then we brought it inside to rinse and quarter it. He was shocked when the muscles starting twitching and I said "look he's trying to run away". I asked him if he wanted fried or rabbit stew and he said he ate a lot of dinner and wasn't hungry. His mom came by to pick him up and of course he had to tell the story and show her the rabbit soaking in the salt water. She was a little upset with me but I told her it will be like a family fish story, when he tells the story to his kids it will be a 100yd shot, when he tells it to his grandkids it will be a 200yd shot.
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Post by 161 on Jul 3, 2009 7:16:07 GMT -5
rossman I enjoyed the story. My Granddad died 11 years before I was even thought of. I don't think he was a wealthy man but he had some nice guns that have been handed down. I have his Model 12 16 ga. his Winchester 63 .22 and his SW 38SW it's the five shot that breaks open at the top. I can't remember what they called it. He also had a Winchester 42 .410 that Dad traded off. He should have had his butt kicked for that. It was later stolen. The 38 was bought out of Kansas City it was a drawer gun at a bank. It has marks on the cylinder that Dad always blamed on sliding back and forth every time the drawer was opened. The 42 was from Kansas also it was a factory imp cyl choke. Both guns were bought from ads in the Shotgun News and delivered to the house. I've shot the 63 about 25 rnds. the 38 about 2 boxes. And I hunt with the Model 12 a little every year. Every time I look at one of the guns I think of a man I never met.
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Post by mike3132 on Jul 3, 2009 22:03:15 GMT -5
Heres something I remembered my grandfather told me he bought his first shotgun from Gambles Hardware for $6.00. He said he caught a mink during winter crossing the Wabash River on the ice and clubbed it to death. Sold the hide for $6.00 and used that money to buy the single shot 12 gauge. This had to be around 1910 -1914. My granddad died at the age of 91 in 1985. Mike
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